Caregiver To Disabled Minn. Brothers Pleads Guilty

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OWATONNA, Minn. (AP) — The former caregiver of two severely disabled brothers in Owatonna has pleaded guilty to child endangerment after she was caught on videotape sleeping and leaving them unattended.

The Owatonna People’s Press reports that the neglect of Alex and Levi Stewart, teenagers with a neuromuscular disorder that require continuous care, occurred between June and October 2008. The boys’ parents decided to videotape health aide Desirae Ackerman on the job when they noticed their sons had lost a lot of weight. She had been hired to care for the boys in 2007.

The tapes showed Ackerman often left the boys unattended while she slept, watched movies, hosted male guests and took smoke breaks. The boys’ feeding machine was not attended to and was sometimes turned off.